Envelope



Aug. 9, 19.66

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 D. LUM

ENVELOPE Original Filed May 9, 1962 F|G.| l /l 3| V l 4' -f I' 32 5&34 HG2 E AEL: 5 24 5 22 i ai i 26/ i i zo '1%' I l l I I I I I INVENTOR.

DONALD LUM MAI/M his attorneys.

Aug. 9, 1966 D. LUM 3,265,288

ENVELOPE Original Filed May 9, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

DONALD LUM BY MVM his attorneys.

United States Patent O 3,265,288 ENVELOIE Donald Lum, Hilton, N.Y., assignor to Rochester Envelope Company, Inc., Rochester, N .Y., a corpoation of New York Continuation of application Ser. No. 193,463, May 9, 1962. This application Ian. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 340,586 13 Claims. (Cl. 229-78) This application is a continuation of my pending application Serial No. 193,403, tiled May 9, 1962, for Envelope, now abandoned.

This invention relates to envelopes and, more particularly, to envelopes of the type having a filling opening and releasable means for closing the opening adapted to be used and reused, for repeated use of the envelope, one object of the invention 'being to provide an envelope o-f the above ycharacter having a construction providing increased utility and greater security for its contents.

Another object is to provide such an envelope in a form adapted to carry a plurality of addresses for transmission successively to a plurality of addressees.

A further object is the provision of an envelope having the above advantages and adapted for safely transmitting articles of some bulk, such, for example, as rolls'of photographic film or other similar packages.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an envelope embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same in expanded condition for reception of an article;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3 3 in FIG. 1, .and showing the envelope expanded to receive an article;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the envelope closed for one of its uses;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation as viewed from the right in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary section on the line 6-6 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the envelope closed in another arrangement for its use;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation as seen from the right in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan View of the envelope closed in another arrangement for another use, and

FIG. 10 is a side elevation as seen from the right in FIG. 9, showing the envelope in course of being closed.

The invention is embodied i-n the present instance, by way of illustration, in an open end envelope, preferably of the expansible type, and made from paper or like sheet material. tubular fashion with the ends of the sheet overlapped and adhesively secured together as at 20, to include a front panel 22, and a rear panel 24 connected at the sides of the envelope by exp-ansible side walls 26 folded inwardly upon themselves, in the at condition of the envelope and Iadapted to unfold and expand as at 28 for the reception of relatively bulky articles, such, for example, as a package or roll of camera lm to be sent to a processor and returned to the customer or user. Front panel 22 has foldably connected therewith a bottom closure ap 30 foldable over the bottom of the rear panel and adhesively secured thereto with suitable scoring, as required, to permit the expansion of the bottom and the side walls of the bottom liap 30, as required by the contents and as understood in the art of exp-ansible envelopes. Opposite ends of the envelope are provided with releasab-ly engagable parts of a fastening means for securing the ends together. For example, in the A sheet of such material is folded in generally 3,265,288 Patented August g, 1966 lCC illustrated embodiment the top or open end 31 of the envelope, including front panel 22 and the overlapped edges 20 of the rear panel, are formed with a pair of .apertures or openings 32 and 34 spaced longitudinally of the envelope as shown, with each opening extending through both panels. Bottom iiap 30 is provided on its outer surface with a bendable metal fastener 36, of generally cruciform shape, with a pair of oppositely extending arms 38 provided with portions pressed through the overlapping edges of the rear panel and clinched on the outer side of the front panel. Fastener 36 has another pair of oppositely extending `arms or prongs 40 -initially lying against the surface of the bottom flap 30, the fastener being made of readily bendable metal so that arms 40 are bendable upwardly from the flap for insertion through the openings 32, or through both openings 32 and 34, as hereafter described, with subsequent bending of the arms against the outer face of the envelope, so as to effectively secure closure of its open end.

In one use of the envelope, as in transmission of an article to a processor, the article is inserted in the envelope, preferably in its lower half, and the body of the envelope is folded medially as at 41 (FIGS. 4-6) in a first orientation fold to bring its ends together and the opening 32 into registry with the fastener 36, the arms 40 being bent up for insertion through opening 32 and subsequent flat toning against the front panel, as shown in FIGS. 4-6, the folded sides of the envelope expanding to accommodate the size of the article. As thus employed, approximate halves of back panel 24 are confronting and the front panel 22 serves as an exterior surface for bearing the name and address of the processor or other intended recipient which can be conveniently printed on the outer exposed surface of the half of the envelope adjacent its open end. The processor then bends the arms 40 to release and open the envelope fo-r access to the article, retaining the envelope f-or reuse in returning the article to the sender.

After the article has been processed, the envelope is folded medially in the opposite direction as at 42 (FIGS. 7 and 8) in a second orientation fold to bring its 4closed end in overlapping relation to the front panel of the envelope adjacent its open end. The open end 31 is then folded over the fastener and the prongs of the latter inserted and secured through opening 32. In such second orientation approximate halves of sa-id front panel 22 are confronting for concealing the processors address and the back panel 24 is brought to an outer or exposed position in which it can conveniently bear name and address of the sender or `customer for delivery of the processed article.

If desired, when the bag is folded in its first orientation for transmitting the article to the processor, the open end of the envelope may be folded upon itself as at 44 (FIGS. 9-10) to bring the openings 37. and 34 into registry with each other for reception of the arms or prongs 40 of the fastener to secure closure of the open end of the envelope and secure its two half portions together. Such doubling of the open end of the envelope increases its strength at the fastening and provides greater security for the contents.

The envelope is preferably expansible to accommodate articles of varying size. The medial doubling of the envelope upon itself adds to the thickness of the enclosure and the protection of the contents. The clinching of the fastener through several thicknesses of material at the bottom of the envelope, and its engagement through several thicknesses at the open end, afford strong and secure closure of the envelope again-st loss of its contents. The medial doubling of the envelope in opposite directions further exposes, one at a time and in proper sequence, the opposite sides of the envelope and the names and addresses of the processor and the customer or sender.

The invention thus provides an exceedingly convenient, secure and useful envelope for the purpose described above.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects and while it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that lsuch disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, :as it is contemplated that various modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art, within the spirit of the invention and lthe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reuseable, reversible bag or envelope formed of a pair of opposed panels and having an open end and a closed end, two-part fastening means having one part thereof located near said open end of the bag and a second part thereof located near said closed end of the bag, said bag being foldable upon itself in one orientation in which approximate halves of one of said panels are confronting and the other one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for beating a set of indicia, said first described orientation being secured by the releasable engagement o-f said first and second parts of said fastening means, said bag being foldable upon itself in another orientation in which approximate halves of said other one of said panels are confronting and said one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for bearing another set of indicia, said second orientation being secured by the releasable engagement of said first and said second parts of said fastening means.

2. A reuseable, reversible bag or envelope formed of a pair of opposed panels and having an open end and a closed end, said panels having mutually registering apertures therethrough near said open end, and a fastener fixed to said bag near said closed end, said bag being foldable upon itself in one orientation in which approximate halves of one of said panels are confronting and the other one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for bearing a set of indicia, said first described orientation being releasably secured by inserting said fastener through said apertures, and said bag being foldable upon itself in another orientation rin which approximate halves of said other of said panels are confronting and said one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for bearing another set of indicia, said second described orientation being releasably secured by inserting said fastener through said apertures.

3. A bag or envelope having the structure .specified in claim 2 wherein said fastener is formed of metal and has bendable prongs adapted for insertion through said apertures and subsequent bending apart for releasably securing said ends of the bag together.

4. The bag or envelope having the structure specified in claim 2 wherein, in one of said orientations, said open end of the bag is folded over closed end of the bag to allow said fastener to be inserted through said apertures.

5. The bag or envelope having the structure specified in claim 2 wherein said panels are each provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced, respectively registering, apertures near said first end of the bag, and in one of said orientations the first end of the bag is folded upon itself so that all of said apertures are in registry for receiving said fastener, and in said other of said orientations the first end of said bag is folded over said second end of the bag so that said fastener can be inserted through one of said apertures.

6. The bag or envelope having the structure specified in claim 2 wherein longitudinal edges of said bag are folded to provide expansible gussets.

7. A returnable, two-trip postal bag composed of a blank of sheet material with a front panel adapted to bear a first postal address and aback panel adapted to bear a second postal address, the longitudinal sideedges of said blank bei-ng overlapped and secured together in one of said panels to form a longitudinal seam, said bag having an open end and a closed end, each of said front and back panels being provided with a longitudinally spaced pair of respectively registering apertures near said open end, and `a fastener fixed to said bag near said closed end, said bag being foldable upon itself in a first orientation in which approximate halves of said back panel are confronting for concealing said second postal address and said front panel serves as an exterior surface for exposing said first postal address, said first orientation being releasably secured by inserting said fastener through said apertures, and said bag being foldable upon itself in a second orientation in which `approximate halves of said front panel are confronting for concealing said first postal address and said back panel serves as an exterior surface for exposing said second postal address, said second orientation being releasably secured by inserting said fastener through said apertures.

8. The lbag of claim 7 wherein in said first orientation said open end is folded upon itself so that all of said apertures are in registry for receiving said fastener, and in said second orientation said open end is folded over said closed end so that said fastener can be inserted through one of said pair of apertures.

9. The bag of claim 7 wherein longitudinal edges of said bag are folded to provide expansi-ble gussets to adapt said bag for mailing and return of photographic film or prints.

10. The bag of claim 9 wherein said fastener has bendable metal prongs.

11. A reusable, reversible bag or envelope formed of a pair of opposed panels and having an access opening, two-pant fastening means having one part thereof located near a first end of said bag and a second part thereof located near a second end thereof, said bag being foldable upon itself in one orientation in which approxi-mate halves of one of said panels are confronting and the other one of said panels serves as anexterior surface for bearing a set of indicia, said first-described orientation being secured by .the releasable engagement of said first and second parts of said fastening means, said bag being foldable upon itself in another orientation in which approximate halves of said other one of said panels are confronting and said one of said panels serves as an exterior sunface for bearing another set of indicia, said second orientation being secured by the releasable engagement of said first and second parts of said fastening means, and in one of said orientations said first end of the bag being folded over said second end of the bag to allow said engagement of said parts of the fastener.

12. A reusable, reversible bag or envelope formed of a pair of opposed panels and having an access opening, said panels having mutually registering apertures therethrough near a first end of said bag and a fastener fixed to sai-d bag near a second end thereof, said fastener being formed of metal and having bendable prongs adapted for insertion through said apertures yand subsequent bending apart for releasably securing said ends of said bag together, said bag being foldable upon itself in one orientation in which approximate halves of one of said panels are confronting and fthe other one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for bearing a set of indicia, 'said firstdescribed `orientation being releasably secured -by inserting said fastener through said apertures, and said bag being foldable upon itself in another orientation in which approximate halves of said other of said panels vare confronting and 'said one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for bearing another set of indicia, said seconddescribed orientation being releasably secured by inserting said fastener through said apertures, and in one of said orientations said first end of theV bag being folded over said second end of the bag to allow said fastener to be inserted through said apertures.

13. A reusable, reversible bag or envelope formed of a pair of opposed panels and having an access opening,

each of said panels being provided With a pair of longitudinally spaced, respectively registering apertures therethrough near a first end of said bag, a fastener xed to said bag near a second end thereof, said fastener being formed of metal and having bendable prongs for insertion through said apertures and subsequent bending apart for releasably securing said ends of the bag together, said bag being fold-able upon itself in one orientation in which approximate halves of one of said panels are confronting and the other one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for bearing a set of indicia, said first-described orientation being releiasably secured by inserting said fastener through said apertures, said bag being foldable upon itself in another orientation in which approximate halves of said other of said panels are confronting and said one of said panels serves as an exterior surface for bearing another set of indicia, said seconddescribed orientation being rele-asably secured by inserting said fastener through said apertures, and in one of said orientations said first end of the bag being folded upon itself so that all of said apertures are in registry for receiving said fastener, and in another of said orientations said first end of said bag being folded over said second end of the bag lso that said fastener can be inserted through one of said apertures.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 729,429 5/ 1903 Shattuc 229--72 900,751 10/19(}8 Lockwood.

1,955,896 4/ 1934 Swift 229--78 3,067,927 12/ 1962 Eisernann 229-73 FOREIGN PATENTS 438,542 5/ 1912 France.

T'HERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner.

20 I. B. MARBERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A REUSEABLE, REVERSIBLE BAG OR ENVELOPE FORMED OF A PAIR OF OPPOSED PANELS AND HAVING AN OPEN END AND A CLOSED END, TWO-PART FASTENING MEANS HAVING ONE PART THEREOF LOCATED NEAR SAID OPEN END OF THE BAG AND A SECOND PART THEREOF LOCATED NEAR SAID CLOSED END OF THE BAG, SAID BAG BEING FOLDABLE UPON ITSELF IN ONE ORIENTATION IN WHICH APPROXIMATE HALVES OF ONE OF SAID PANELS ARE CONFRONTING AND THE OTHER ONE OF SAID PANELS SERVES AS AN EXTERIOR SURFACE FOR BEARING A SET OF INDICIA, SAID FIRST DESCRIBED ORIENTATION BEING SECURED BY THE RELEASABLE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND PARTS OF SAID FASTENING MEANS, SAID BAG BEING FOLDABLE UPON ITSELF IN ANOTHER ORIENTATION IN WHICH APPROXIMATE HALVES OF SAID OTHER ONE OF SAID PANELS ARE CONFRONTING AND SAID ONE OF SAID PANELS SERVES AS AN EXTERIOR SURFACE FOR BEARING ANOTHER SET OF INDICIA, SAID SECOND ORIENTATION BEING SECURED BY THE RELEASABLE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND PARTS OF SAID FASTENING MEANS. 